Snuggles and Squeaks
by Archaeologist
Summary: Arthur should know better than to be around when Merlin is practicing magic. Future fic. Pure teeth-rotting fluff


**Warnings**: teeth-rotting fluff  
**Author's Notes (A/N)**: A nod to T.H. White, The Once and Future King.  
**Disclaimer:** I do not own the BBC version of Merlin; BBC and Shine do. I am very respectfully borrowing them with no intent to profit. No money has changed hands. No copyright infringement is intended.

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"You are a complete buffoon! A brainless imbecile. I can't even… there aren't enough words in the world to describe how idiotic you are. When I'm myself again, you will be in the stocks until… until… _forever_!"

At least, that's what he wanted to say. He wanted to yell and scream, call Merlin every name in the book and a few he'd make up if he had to, but instead all that came out of his mouth were cute little squeaks. Cute… little… squeaks.

It was mortifying.

Worse that that, he couldn't even throw things, not armour, not pots breaking over that idiot's head, not pillows or boots or his favourite helmet. Nothing. He might be able to hop on top of Merlin and whack him with his paw until whatever brain cells that were in the imbecile's head came up with a solution to this but throwing things were out of the question. Sad, too because he really wanted to throw something.

It was all Merlin's fault. It always was Merlin's fault but this time, it really was.

He had tried a new spell. He'd wanted to show it off to Arthur, something amusing to entertain the court he said and he must have got it wrong somehow. Idiot. Now Arthur could do nothing but make unhappy noises and hope for the best.

Useless as ever, Merlin was staring back at him, all that black fuzz wiggling around and a cute pink nose twitching at him. Obviously not doing anything to fix the situation. Did the fool even understand how bad things were?

Arthur still couldn't believe it.

Merlin had turned them into rabbits, little adorable cuddly rabbits and the whole idea was preposterous, utterly without merit. Arthur Pendragon was not adorable, far from it. He'd vanquished Camelot's foes with sword and sinew and damn it, he refused to even consider all those euphemistic terms for adorableness with regard to himself. It was embarrassing. It was beyond anything he'd ever admit to. The utter humiliation of it all.

Now all he could do was twitch and squeak and think of ways he'd torment Merlin, make his life a living hell when everything went back to normal. Until the end of time and if he could figure it out, beyond that.

Instead of trying to find a way out of it all, the idiot just sat there, nudging him with that adorable nose of his, using his whiskers to tickle his he-refused-to-admit-it large ears. Merlin was the one with large fluffy ears, not him.

But Merlin kept doing it, wiggling his nose, flicking at his ears, sniffling and squeaking and climbing all over Arthur as only happy bunnies could.

It wasn't possible that Merlin could be that brainless, could he? That he was enjoying himself? That he was happy about this debacle?

Bloody hell, he could be. The dim-witted daffodil liked furry woodland creatures, especially cute ones and was always complaining about Arthur's hunting.

This was going to stop right now. He wouldn't have a bunny's whiskers tickling him. He'd never hear the end of it.

Letting out an indignant squeak, Arthur pulled back, out of reach. He scrunched up his nose, narrowed his rabbity eyes into slits and thumped one of his hind legs. Thumped again so that Merlin would realize just how unhappy he was about the situation.

Something must have got through because unlikely as it would seem, the black-furred idiot looked upset. He turned away, snuffling and as he hunched down, flattening his ears, he pushed one paw over his head as if trying to hide.

Oh, damn. Merlin was making little bunny grunts, almost as if he were crying.

Arthur could never really stand it when Merlin did something like that, even when the idiot deserved to be berated, even when it was his fault they were in this mess. Another glance toward the huddled form and he gave up. Merlin was just too pathetic to ignore.

Nudging at him, Arthur tried to make comforting noises as best he could. He rumbled a bit in his throat, a soft sound but it seemed to work.

Merlin uncurled slowly, his black eyes still hurt and blinking at him as if afraid that Arthur would thump at him again. But all at once, he must have realized that he wasn't about to be banished or his head cut off or found himself in the stocks again. A joyous waggle of that black bunny's tail and Merlin hopped over and jumped right on top of him.

Arthur couldn't even protest the indignity of it.

Merlin was making happy squeaky noises and tickling Arthur's ear again with those damn whiskers but at least Merlin was not upset with him any more. So he let his best friend, his idiot sorcerer, wiggle and sniff and huff-laugh as only a rabbit could.

He knew that when eventually Merlin figured the spell out and turned them back into their proper selves, the indignity of being a cute bunny rabbit would be a small price to pay to see the look of happiness on Merlin's face.

So, he chased and rolled and wiggled his ears, played with the black-furred idiot until they were both out of breath from hopping across beds and onto tables, gobbling up the rest of breakfast and in general having a marvellous time. And if Arthur looked a bit ridiculous, so be it.

He didn't know how long they were playing – was rabbit time the same as that of men? – but it was the sudden knock at the door and a guard's call for Arthur's presence in the council chamber that brought everything to a halt.

Merlin stood frozen, one paw up as if he had been about to jump on top of Arthur and wrestle him down. The idiot's dark eyes were wide and the long whiskers twitched a moment.

Then there was a resigned rabbity sigh and a golden flash and Merlin, the real Merlin, stood up. He looked a thorough mess, hair sticking up in spots, his robes all twisted but he was still grinning at Arthur with energetic enthusiasm.

If Arthur could have rolled his eyes, he would have. It was so typically Merlin, a complete and utter buffoon if ever he saw one.

Still he was huge compared with Arthur. A giant reaching down to brush at his fur with gentle hands and rumble something about play time being over.

Sending Arthur a wide grin, huge, brilliant, his eyes blazed gold.

The room grew smaller somehow. To his eyes, the walls and ceiling a thousand leagues distant were shifting closer, the wooden field they'd run under and over shrinking from something immeasurable back into his dining table. Some senses began to deaden, especially that of smell and hearing, as he rose up, growing back into himself.

But it felt good. He was human again and if his nose didn't twitch and his ears refused to flop around, so much the better.

Another knock at the door, just a gentle tap really and Arthur shouted that he'd be there soon enough. It must have placated whoever was behind the door because the footsteps faded slowly away.

He twisted around, looked at his idiot sorcerer. The buffoon wasn't even sorry, just stood there, grinning like a simpleton, as if he'd succeeded at some brilliant plan, instead of almost condemning them both to being rabbits forever.

Damn fool, they could have been stew if Merlin hadn't reversed the spell.

"What were you thinking?" Arthur shouted, waving his arms about to show just how upset he was.

"It was just a bit of fun."

Merlin just stood there, looking so thoroughly pleased with himself that Arthur was thinking about putting him in the stocks again. Not that the idiot wouldn't be able to escape with a single word but still, it was the thought that counted, wasn't it?

"Fun? Fun? Next time, you might try and figure out how to reverse something before you go experimenting with shape-shifting. What if you had left us like that?"

If anything, Merlin only grew more smug. "Arthur, I knew exactly what I was doing. I've been shape-shifting for ages."

"For… ages?" So Merlin knew. And he didn't tell Arthur before he just made his eyes go all glowy and turn him into a bloody rabbit. "And you chose to make me into some furry woodland creature because… why?"

Obviously trying not to laugh at Arthur's outrage, it took a few moments before Merlin said, "You needed some time off. You've been grouchy and out of sorts for months." Then he turned serious. "I thought it would get your mind off treaties and running the kingdom and taking everyone else's burdens onto your shoulders for a couple of hours. Make you laugh. Get you to wrestle with me like you used to before you got all stuffy."

It was the truth. He had been horrible these last weeks, shouting at people who didn't deserve it, turning silent when he couldn't deal any more with all the burdens of being king. It was a wonder that Merlin was still talking to him, never mind trying to cheer him up.

But he couldn't let Merlin get away with it. Straightening, he sent his idiot a stern glare, the frown sharp as cut glass. "So when I get back from the council meeting, we are discussing this irritating habit of yours of assuming you know what is best for me."

Something of his anger must have got through and Merlin looked as contrite as he ever had. "Sorry, Your Majesty. I was only trying to help."

Arthur let that hang in the air for a moment, then he said, "Can you transform into anything?"

"Just about. Not a dragon though but fish, most birds, all the animals of the forest." Merlin shrugged.

All that power leashed in this endearing guileless man. Merlin didn't even seem to realize just how brilliant he really was. But Arthur knew.

Then, like a thunderbolt, it hit him. There was this one thing, a wish deep in his heart that he'd never spoken of to another, that he'd longed for all of his life, a yearnings from his earliest memories. Now that he got past the embarrassment of being a bloody rabbit, something he'd thought impossible might now be within his grasp - because with Merlin, nothing was impossible.

"Merlin, I've always wanted to fly," he said softly.

Merlin's answer was a dazzling smile. "Your wish is my command."

The end.


End file.
